The Golden Door: March 2020
Legal and Policy Issues
We are closely monitoring state and federal immigration law and policy. Please check our social media accounts for more frequent updates.
COVID-19 Impacts on Immigration
Stimulus Package Leaves Out Many Immigrant Families
While the COVID-19 relief package passed with bipartisan support in Congress, it failed to provide any relief to thousands of immigrant families in Maine and millions nationwide. Before the final vote, ILAP signed on to a letter with over 600 other organizations urging Congress to fix the bill that left millions of low- and moderate-income immigrants out of so-called "universal" testing and excluded mixed-status families and ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) tax filers from receiving stimulus checks.
Unfortunately, the final CARES Act leaves out undocumented individuals and “mixed status” families with both US citizen and undocumented family members. In order to receive the stimulus check, the law requires individuals to have filed their 2018 or 2019 taxes with a valid social security number. The law purposefully leaves out individuals who filed with an ITIN, which is how people without status pay their taxes.
It’s not just individuals with ITINs who are left out, however. The final law states that if any member of the family does not have a social security number, no one at all in the family is eligible for a stimulus check. Thousands of families in Maine will be negatively impacted by this short-sighted, anti-immigrant provision.
Administration Refuses to Close Immigration Courts and Release Detained Immigrants
Despite stay-at-home orders in many cities and states, immigration courts are still open for in-person detained cases. Immigration judges, immigration attorneys, and government attorneys all came together in a rare show of unity to demand that immigration courts close nationwide. As of March 31, those courts are still open.
The Immigration Justice Campaign, American Immigration Lawyers Association, National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, and individual detained plaintiffs have sued the Department of Justice demanding the government close immigration courts for the duration of the pandemic, allow for remote court appearances everywhere, and guarantee ways for attorneys and detained clients to speak to each other.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has broad discretion to release individuals from its custody, nearly half of whom are being held for only civil immigration violations. The crowded and unsanitary conditions in immigration detention are incredibly vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19. Numerous lawsuits have been successful at getting smaller numbers of detained individuals out of detention, but the vast majority remain detained in increasingly dangerous conditions.
Immigration Offices Impacted by Crisis
The already backlogged and excruciatingly slow immigration process has ground to a halt, with public-facing immigration agency offices closed due to the COVID-19 crisis. While this was the right move (and one immigration courts must make as well), it means further delays for ILAP clients. When the crisis has passed, non-detained immigration court hearings will be scheduled even further into the future. The asylum backlog will be longer, and interviews for immigration applications like citizenship or green cards will be delayed months more. Congress can easily fix these issues through legislation, and we will fight for these changes.
Administration Extends Temporary Protected Status for Somalia
This month, the administration announced that it has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Somalia until September 17, 2021.TPS is a temporary status granted to individuals from certain countries that the government has designated as being unsafe for return. TPS for Somali nationals has been in effect since 1991, when civil war broke out in that country.
If you currently have TPS, it is now time for you to re-apply. If you want to stay in the United States and keep your TPS, you must re-register before May 11, 2020. If you miss this deadline, you may lose your TPS, your work permit, and your legal status in the United States.
Current Somali TPS holder work permits with an expiration date of March 17, 2020 are automatically extended for 180 days through September 13, 2020. You can show your employer a copy of the Federal Register Notice as proof of your work permit extension.
If you live in Maine and would like help re-registering for TPS, please call ILAP at 207-699-4401 and leave a detailed voicemail message. Information is also available on our website here.
ILAP Visits Maine's Congressional Delegation in Washington, D.C.
ILAP Advocacy & Outreach Attorney Julia Brown attended the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) National Day of Action in Washington, DC on March 5. She and other immigration attorneys met with Maine’s congressional delegation and their hardworking staff.
ILAP advocated for passage of "The No Ban Act," which would undo the President's Muslim Ban and prevent future presidents from enacting similar bans. We also called for passage of "The Case Backlog Transparency and Accountability Act of 2020," which would address the severe processing delays in the immigration system. While these bills will not be high priority during the COVID-19 crisis, we will keep you updated on their progress.
Immigration advocates Kate Voigt, Matthew Maiona, ILAP's Julia Brown, and Jeremy McKinney meet with Senator Angus King at AILA's National Day of Action.
ILAP's Work Continues
Despite the closure of our physical offices, ILAP's work continues. Over the last two weeks, our staff have remained dedicated to helping Maine's immigrant communities during these uncertain times by:
Securing release from detention for a young woman eligible for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, where she faced increased risk of exposure to COVID-19
Providing guidance over the phone to asylum seekers as they navigate their cases, and mentoring for pro bono attorneys
Getting legal status for a survivor of domestic violence and an unaccompanied minor, while continuing work on other active cases
Meeting application deadlines to help a family reunite with children in the country they fled and to ensure an individual maintains their legal status
Conducting outreach on the recently announced extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalia and working with clients to submit their renewal applications
Keep up-to-date on ILAP's COVID-19 response and find translated updates and resources on our new COVID-19 and Immigration page.